


A Starry Christmas Eve

by dancefantasy



Series: Claire/Jill AU [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: 90s, AU, Attempt at Historical Accuracy, Attempt at Humor, Christmas, Christmas Presents, Closeted Character, Crack Relationships, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Guilt, Insecurity, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Pining, Sibling Love, Slow Build, Supportive Siblings, Unrequited Crush, chris is oblivious, mentioned Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28430889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancefantasy/pseuds/dancefantasy
Summary: Chris has a major crush on his co-worker, Jill, and his sister Claire dares him to confess his feelings to her by Christmas. However, as Claire tries to help set up the perfect moment for the two of them to get together, she becomes tangled up in the situation in a way she never intended...
Relationships: Chris Redfield & Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield/Jill Valentine
Series: Claire/Jill AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150979
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. An Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in 1998, but there's no zombie situation going on yet. Things are a bit different in general, and it's just meant to be a somewhat comical little Christmas story. Enjoy!

"Have you met the new rookie cop?" Chris asked his younger sister, Claire, as they hung up lights for the district's public service employee Christmas party that weekend.

Claire gave him an amused look. "Chris, what makes you think I would have happened to meet some random new cop?" She didn't work for the local government like he did as a member of the Raccoon City Special Tactics and Rescue Service. She wouldn't be familiar with every new hire, although she was acquaintances with quite a few police officers and other public servants just by tagging along with Chris to any event that caught her eye. Any department would have offered to hire her if she wasn't already dedicated elsewhere. As Claire liked to rub in Chris's face, everyone was more excited to see her anywhere than Chris, their own colleague. 

"Just asking!" Chris said defensively, trying to untangle a particularly bad mess of wires. "His name is Leon. He's a bit of a try-hard at times, but he's got a lot of potential. Reminds me of a puppy, honestly."

"Sounds like the kind of guy who either ends up a total mess or with an enormous ego," Claire decided, holding a ladder steady so Chris could hang up more décor. "Let me guess, he came to Raccoon City with big dreams for the future?"

Chris shrugged before hammering a nail into the wall. "Every new cop starts off with big dreams. They usually snap out of the 'dream' quickly enough once they see what reality's like out in the field." As much as he loved his job, he couldn't deny that it was disheartening at times. 

"As long as he stays out of trouble, it's all good with me. It's not like I have to worry about him catching me in my next crime," Claire joked about her clean record, very proud of never having gotten even a ticket before in her life. Which wasn't to say she never broke the law, but she was smart about figuring out how likely she was to be caught anytime she parked her car illegally. Chris disapproved of this, but admired her talent enough not to make her stop. It never really hurt anyone, anyway.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" The door to the event hall opened, a uniformed woman stepping inside to deliver a box of tinsel. "It looks so festive!"

"Jill! I hope you're coming to the Christmas party on Saturday?" Chris asked, giving his office mate a large smile and stepping down from the ladder to greet her.

The woman shook her head apologetically. "You know me, I'm not much of a partier. I volunteered for patrol that night so Kennedy could come check it out instead."

Chris widened his eyes in surprise. "Leon Kennedy? You can't give the new guy a holiday like that right after he starts. He'll expect Christmas itself off next. Then New Year's, then Easter, then--"

Jill laughed. "Relax, Chris. You would have appreciated it when you started, I'm sure. Everyone needs the chance to socialize with their co-workers and get to know them. Don't be too hard on him or he'll run away."

Claire looked amused, glancing over at Chris and Jill while she took a look at a box of tree ornaments. "Guess I'll finally get to meet the new 'puppy' boy like you wanted, Chris."

"I didn't know employee siblings were invited," Jill teased, feeling like Claire was apart of the team with how much time she spent hanging around. "At this point you should start doing some of our work."

"I'm actually the guest of honor and official cookie taste tester that night, which is much more important than your work, I'm sure," Claire responded, to which Jill comically feigned great awe and reverence.

In contrast, Chris looked at Jill a bit more somberly. "We'll miss you there, you know. It's not S.T.A.R.S. if we're missing someone."

She offered in compromise, "Well, if you party hard enough, I'll have to come check out the noise complaint. I'd prefer to just be saved a slice of pie instead, though."

"Blueberry, right?"

Jill smiled and looked surprised. "Yeah, that's my favorite! I didn't know you knew."

"Of course I know!" Chris said, waving a large hand dismissively. He happened to remember a lot of the little things people said, especially her words since they worked so closely together. In fact, he couldn't help but make careful note of everything about Jill.

She nodded a bit before patting the top of the box she had brought in. "Well, I just came in to bring this for you, so I should get back to the rest of my work now. Don't get too wild, you two! I don't want to hear about any staple gun incidents," Jill said in adoring farewell, always happy to see the chaotic, town-famous siblings having fun around the workplace.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Claire turned to Chris sharply and said, "It's so obvious you have a crush on her. Just ask her out!"

"I do not have a crush on her!" Chris hushed defensively, holding up his hands helplessly and wondering what he did to make her think that. "And even if I did, it's too complicated to just do that!"

"Don't deny it! You look at her like she put the sun in the sky. But..." After getting a sudden thought that might convince her brother, Claire crossed her arms and smirked. "Fine. If you don't do it, I will."

"You can't do that!!" Chris sputtered, quickly regretting the fact that it probably gave his true feelings away.

"Yes I can!" Claire asserted before boasting, "Anybody you're interested in, whether it's a man, woman or supernatural being? If they've got a dog and great skin like Jill has, I'm not going to let the Redfield family lose a chance at having that just because you don't have any game."

Claire's words did feel a bit threatening. If nothing else, Chris truly knew that Claire was confident. And she was so unapologetically herself that it was magnetic, enough so that even the hardest Bible-thumping homophobes in town still loved her despite being open about her sexuality. Most everyone liked Chris too, but he always felt like he paled in comparison. There was nothing overtly special about him. He was a strong, hard-working investigative officer, but so was everyone else in S.T.A.R.S. 

There was something that was always different about Jill in his eyes, however. Whenever they worked together, it was like they were two sides of the same coin, perfectly in sync. They took care of each other on every mission, always watching each other's back. Chris knew that working with Jill was the highlight of every workday. She was like the star of the S.T.A.R.S., her charming smile and electric personality an added piece of perfection on top of all the hard work she put in.

He had definitely lied. Chris Redfield totally has a crush on Jill Valentine. But what if she didn't feel the same way? It could ruin their relationship forever. He would have to move cities to hide from the shame. It was better to drown in the sorrow of unrequited feelings than to make anyone uncomfortable.

But maybe Claire was right and he should just try. Jill was too great to potential miss because of fear. Besides, he couldn't leave his feelings bottled up forever. It couldn't be healthy. If she said yes to a date, it would be the perfect Christmas gift. And if she said no? Well, Chris hoped that Santa could bring him a new heart or something.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that," Chris responded with a sudden dose of self-assured sass. "Because I will ask Jill out. How about that?"

Claire laughed, shaking her head in pleasant surprise. "That's more like it. You have until Christmas."

"What?!"

"The sooner you two start your movie-style romance story the better, Chris! Out of the kindness of my heart, I'll even help you."

Chris felt like he should be concerned based on what Claire sometimes considered "helping," but a sudden rush of intense nervousness was much more pressing at the moment. The holidays were stressful enough as it was; how was he going to deal with this?!

...

Chris had been guarding the desserts table the entire night, making sure that there would at least one slice of blueberry pie left at the end of the party. He felt like he had made a big promise to Jill to save her one, as perhaps overdramatic as that was. Maybe giving it to her would even present the perfect opportunity to ask her out on a date. 

Usually Chris loved being in on all the action, singing Christmas songs, dancing and joking with everyone, and playing party games. He had always been good at Pin-the-Nose-on-Rudolph, after all. But he knew it wouldn't be quite so fun without Jill there competing against him, as they'd always had an extremely friendly rivalry when it came to the smallest of things. There was still Rebecca, Barry, and even Wesker who he could have fun with. Yet there was something empty about it all when just one person was missing. So, he merely waited and watched.

He kept an eye on Claire introducing herself to Leon to make sure she didn't intimidate him too much. They seemed to get on surprisingly well, which made Chris happy. He was getting more anxious with each passing moment, thinking about how Claire had challenged him to confess his feelings to Jill. He truly loved his sister, as frustrating as she could be; if she was having a good time at the party, he'd survive somehow. At least he could keep eating Christmas cookies from the sidelines.

"Are you feeling alright?" Barry asked him as the party slowly began winding down. "You don't seem yourself tonight."

Chris gave the older man a smile and a nod, waving off his concerns. "I'm just fine!" he assured him. "Do you like the decorations?" he quickly changed the subject. "I think Claire and I did a fantastic job. Look at the silver tinsel next to those lights right there. Really makes it twinkle. It's like Christmas on a string!"

Barry laughed and gave Chris a concerned pat on the back. "You're a silly kid, Chris. Sure you didn't drink too much of that eggnog? Can't say I trusted it ever since I heard Captain Wesker brought it. He goes crazy with the seasonings. Might be questionable amounts of nutmeg in there."

"I promise I'm fine," Chris repeated. "Just taking it easy tonight! I've got work tomorrow; I don't want to tire myself out too much."

Rebecca came up to where the two men stood, interrupting their conversation. She pointed to the remaining desserts and asked. "Hey, we can take these treats home, right? I don't think they're going to be finished before the party ends--"

"Not the pie!" Chris quickly stopped her with a shout. "You can take whatever you want, just not that blueberry pie," he said emphatically.

Rebecca glanced at Barry with confusion as to why Chris was so protective of half of a mediocre pie, but tried to let it go. "Um, okay. I was just eyeing that cheesecake," she defended herself. "My roommate loves raspberry cheesecake."

Chris's aggressive expression rapidly changed to something much more supportive and pleased. "Totally! Take all of it!" he offered, almost shoving the dish into her hands so she didn't have time to change her mind. Rebecca was very disturbed by his odd behavior, quickly scurrying away with the food and preparing to leave the Christmas bash with most everyone else. Barry also excused himself, but not before suggesting that Chris might need a short vacation soon.

The Redfield siblings had volunteered to clean up the party alongside a few other employees as 1 A.M. had arrived and everyone decided that they should be responsible and go home to sleep instead of continuing to scream the lyrics to "All I Want for Christmas is You." Chris continued wondering if he would see Jill before the night was over, but Claire competed for his brain's attention by rambling about the action that he had missed out on experiencing by spending the hours standing on the sidelines.

"That Leon guy is too shy! How is he supposed to make traffic stops when he's too uncomfortable simply mingling with a friendly crowd?"

Chris scoffed in disbelief while tossing some used paper plates into the garbage. "Just mingling? From what I saw, you all were pressuring him into trying to fit a whole chocolate orange in his mouth."

"And he said no; can you believe it?!" Claire gestured with her hand dramatically. "Still, he seems like a bit of a people-pleaser, deep down past that wariness. Think he'd do my errands next weekend if I asked?"

"That guy's going to quit because of you, Claire. Heck, you don't even work here, remember?" Chris was mid-exaggerated glare when the door to the hall opened, catching everyone's attention. He felt a smile grow on his face as he saw Jill's peek around the edge of the door to see what was going on.

"Can I come in? I don't want to get in anyone's way," she asked.

Claire gave Chris a knowing look before shooting Jill a grin. "The more the merrier!" she answered warmly, and Jill walked in with a look of gratitude. "You just missed the end of the party," Claire explained to the older officer.

"We saved you some pie, though!" Chris stuttered as he suddenly remembered his "mission" he had been focused on that whole time. He held the pie tin out to Jill and said, "I hope it's satisfactory."

Jill laughed. "Amazing! Thanks, Chris. You're the best. I know what I'm having for dessert tomorrow. Maybe even breakfast," she finished with a half-joke.

Instead of chuckling, Chris cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. He had never been so awkward around Jill before. Claire noticing the way he felt about his work partner made him extremely self-conscious of everything he did. What was a normal thing to ask? "How are things in Raccoon City tonight?" he decided to say.

Jill scratched her head thoughtfully, thinking through Leon's patrol duties she had taken over for him the past few hours. "Nothing out of the ordinary. But you know how it is; everyone saves up their trouble for Christmas Eve night just to make extra work for us on the holidays."

"Say, do you have any Christmas plans?" Chris asked, finally finding the nerve to try and find the right opportunity to slip in a date idea. "I think S.T.A.R.S. has it off, right?" Claire watched excitedly as Chris began trying to get somewhere, while she simultaneously tried to look natural in how she folded a tablecloth so not to distract the other two from each other.

"I don't have any family nearby, so it'll just be me and the dog. We'll watch some holiday movies and drink a lot of cocoa. You know, staying cozy inside. It's not like Christmas back home, but it's still fun!" Jill said with a shrug.

"Well, hey!" Claire interjected, frustrating Chris as he couldn't continue his own plan. "Jill could come to our house and celebrate with us, right?" Chris looked at his sister in desperate panic. Why would she suggest such a thing?! Claire only offered a subtle wink, innocently trying to set up a good opportunity for him. He saw it as more of a traumatic opportunity, however.

Jill shook her head while still smiling gratefully at Claire's idea. "That's a really nice offer, but I don't want you to feel obligated--"

"No no no! It's no trouble at all. Like I said earlier, the more the merrier, right, Chris?" Claire elbowed her brother's arm and almost laughed at the mischief she felt she might be causing, but held it in to keep up appearances. 

Chris looked and truly felt like he was about to be sick, but he nodded in agreement. "Totally! We'd love to have you," he said through clenched teeth. His mind was going a million miles per hour trying to work through all the possible scenarios that could result from this.

Jill didn't seem to notice his stress, because she accepted the Redfield's invitation heartily. "I mean, if you're offering, I really have no reason to say no!" she conceded. "I'm sure spending extra time with you both will be plenty of fun. You always seem to have a lot of Christmas spirit."

"You know us!" Chris awkwardly laughed. "Just like two of Santa's elves!" What an odd thing to say, he thought. Throwing himself in the garbage can right before of him sounded like a great idea.

"We'll settle all the details later, then," Claire said, ignoring her weird brother. "It's been a long night, and S.T.A.R.S.' finest ought to get some sleep!" She reached out to give each of them a pat on the arm.

Jill gave Claire a small pat in return. "Thanks again, you two. It genuinely means a lot! And you know, I can help you guys finish cleaning to make things faster for all of us." She looked around the room. "There's not too much damage. We'll be done super fast."

As much as being near Jill was tearing Chris apart those past few days, he heartily accepted her help. If they were both busy together, things would feel normal between them again, at least for that night. That was what he wanted the most: for things to always feel the same good way they always had, no matter what romantic feelings might exist behind the scenes.

And that's why Claire trying to force his feelings out was so terrifying, because they could change everything. But at the same time, Chris did feel he had to be truthful. He couldn't keep up his awkward charade much longer, and Jill deserved honesty from him. Now his opportunity was Christmas. That could be comforting, right? What could possibly go wrong on Christmas?


	2. Sister and Brother

"Didn't your shift end twenty minutes ago?" Jill asked Chris, noticing he still hadn't stopped organizing the old reports and files despite mentioning that he was working the early shift that day. 

Cramming as many folders as possible into the filing cabinet as he could muscle, Chris looked over to his co-worker at her desk. "Unfortunately, you're going to be stuck with me until my sister finally comes to pick me up. My car broke down last night," he explained. "It's a nice thing she didn't have any pre-existing obligations today so she could help me out, but you know her; she moves at her own pace if she has the choice."

"I guess living with your sister has a few travel perks," Jill noted. "But I think I'd have gone insane years ago if I still lived with family. Visiting once a year is fine with me."

"It has its ups and downs," Chris agreed. "But she's my sister; I love her no matter--"

Someone suddenly slammed the door to the office open. "Good news!" Captain Wesker announced, striding into the room and slamming a large pile of papers on Chris's desk. "The Baumanhaas court case is over, and the evidence our team collected was enough to get the due prosecution. Now you have to figure out where to store all these records." Chris looked at the heap of work woefully, even though he'd soon be free from the chains of paperwork for the day. He wasn't alone; even Wesker seemed to be thinking of things outside of work. "Anyway, I hear you two are spending Christmas together..." he said slowly, glancing between the two others in the room.

"With my sister," Chris added, not wanting his supervisor to think he and Jill were already an item, when they weren't. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Either way, he wasn't sure if Wesker would approve of dating within the RCPD workplace.

Wesker nodded thoughtfully as he cleaned his sunglasses with a handkerchief. "Makes sense. Starting with Jill, you're each a progressive step closer to crazy. And as they say, birds of a feather flock together." Wesker frequently made somewhat playful insults at the others' expense. He would always say it helped to keep their "edge" when it came to their often-dangerous work.

Taking some good-natured offense, Chris tried to take a dig back at the senior officer. "Let me guess. Will you be spending Christmas alone, Captain?" he asked.

"Shut up!" Wesker snapped, seemingly almost genuinely offended. "I'll be spending it with my wife, thank you very much."

"You're married?! How did I not know that?" Chris looked at Jill to see her response, which was a shocked shake of her head.

"You didn't know because it's none of your business, Redfield. And why do I now hear so much commotion in the reception area? Don't tell me your sister is back and being as disruptive as ever," Wesker groaned. 

"She's just my ride home," Chris explained.

Wesker put his sunglasses back on and gave a curt nod. "In that case, I will be leaving now so I don't have to be in the same room as nutcase number three."

Chris shrugged in response as Wesker walked out, happy to have the man out of his hair for the time being. Jill just laughed at all of it. "I can't say this is why I started working here, but it's definitely why I stay. These things don't happen in the military."

"What's this about the military? They aren't shipping you kids off to warzones now too, are they?" Like clockwork with Wesker's exit, Claire made her way into the office. "I don't think you have enough patience for a whole war, Chris."

"Hey, I had enough patience to wait for you! Did you drive five miles per hour or something?" Chris asked, finally packing up his work to head home.

"That's dangerous driving, Claire. We might have to issue a ticket," Jill joked.

"Since when do rescue teams get to give out tickets? Not like you have any evidence. I could have been going fifty in a school zone, for all you know." Claire clapped her hands and changed the subject before anyone could accuse her of actually speeding. "Anyway, let's hurry and get going. I want to get some Christmas shopping done today."

"Aye aye, Captain Crunch," her brother obliged, happy to be done with work for the day. As he made his way over to the door where Claire stood, Jill spoke again.

"Christmas shopping? That sounds fun."

Claire smiled, seeming glad that someone else enjoyed holiday shopping like she did. Chris had always bemoaned it as the worst part of the season. (And watching _Rudolph_ was the best.) But Claire always had a flair for picking out memorable gifts and loved every second of it. She always hoped a friend would be willing to go with her each year, and so she decided to invite Jill this time around, since the opportunity was there. "You should come with! Are you free tonight?"

Jill looked thrilled to be given the offer to hang out. "Yeah, I'm free after five."

"Nice! We should meet at the mall at five thirty, then. If you're sure you're prepared for some extreme gift sports, because you're tagging along with some gold medalist material right here, baby." 

Jill laughed at the way Claire hyped up a simple trip to the mall. She was good at making the most mundane things sound exciting. Jill saw the experience as much more casual, however. "Haha, I enjoy the window shopping the most. So if you need someone to carry your bags, I'm your girl."

Impressed by such an offer, Claire elbowed Chris. "Wow, you're my own brother, and you offer less."

He held up his hands defensively. "Hey, because I know from _experience_ that helping you with the smallest thing can easily become borderline slave labor. I'm warning you, Jill. Be careful with this kid."

"Who knew I would need more safety briefing for a trip to the mall then for hunting down murderers and the like?" his coworker quipped.

Chris held up his hands defensively. "I'm just looking out for you!"

Although the situation was mostly humorous and Jill didn't really believe that Claire would somehow ruin her life, she replied surprisingly somberly. "I know, and I appreciate it. You're always looking out for all of us before anything else. It's really admirable; you're a great part of the team."

Claire saw the slight blush on her brother's cheeks from his crush's praises as he stuttered a shyly dismissive response, unexpecting of Jill's sudden praises. Claire knew she needed to hurry up and get him out of there; he seemed on the verge of saying a proposal. Or worse, replying, "No, _you_!"

"Hate to run, but we've really got to go," Claire apologized as she began almost shoving Chris out of the office. He barely resisted due to the dazed feeling of euphoria he gained whenever Jill treated him differently from normal. Claire did her best to come up with an excuse of why they suddenly had to leave. "I think The Price is Right is starting soon, and I really have to watch it for, uh, some reason. So, you'll just have to relay any final words to Chris to me tonight, because I do expect to see you. I don't like people who flake out, Ms. Valentine," Claire threatened, mostly as a joke.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Jill sincerely promised. She didn't get a final response; the siblings stumbled over each other as they made their exit, continuing to bicker about something under their breath. They were a delight to watch even when they didn't get along perfectly, Jill thought, always bringing a smile to everyone around them. "Never change, you two," she happily sighed before getting back to work.

Chris openly muttered at Claire in frustration once they got outside into the cold December air. "I don't know what you're planning, but I don't like it."

"What?" Claire innocently asked while unlocking her car door. 

"You've never just hung out with Jill before. Which means inviting her must be part of this whole scheme you have to get us together. I have enough stress about it without you getting involved, you know."

"Hey, maybe I just want to get to know my future house guest better, Chris! If anything else, it's an opportunity to put in some good words for you. Like how you haven't had a girlfriend in five years and are just dying with loneliness, waiting for your Christmas miracle under the mistletoe."

Chris groaned as he slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut. "That does not sound 'good' to me, Claire. It makes me sound pathetic."

"Come on, you know I'd do nothing but make you look as desirable as a glazed ham on a snowy Christmas. You think I don't want you to hurry up and get a girlfriend? Get married and have kids? I need to be the cool aunt everyone loves."

"Good luck," Chris hopelessly whined. "I have a busy, dangerous job and pretty much no charm. There's no reason why someone should want to be in a relationship with me right now."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Come on, you dummy. Jill has the same job as you, and she already likes you, charm or no charm. You're on the right track. All it needs is a little push."

"The problem is that you and 'little' don't do well together. I don't need you driving Jill out of town because you creep her out too much. For the sake of this whole city, at least. You know, if there was ever a zombie outbreak, she would be the one to save us all. We can't lose her."

Claire had to snort at the overdramatic way Chris talked about Jill. "Yeah, yeah, we get it. Your darling Jill could hold all of Earth on her shoulders. But you can gush about her later. I'm curious now if The Price is Right is actually on, so let's have less chatting, more driving home."

Chris sighed, leaning back in his seat for the rest of the ride. It felt like everything was suddenly moving too fast, even if nothing had quite happened yet. As much as he was infatuated by Jill, he couldn't quite imagine what it would be like if she did say yes to a date, if they became a couple... It was like a dream beyond his comprehension. Chris was always supposed to be prepared to deal with the unexpected, but that usually involved stopping dangerous criminals instead of balancing a work and romantic relationship at the same time with the same person.

It was complicated, both wanting something and fearing it at the same time. Needing a distraction from all these thoughts, he immediately got to work on fixing his car once they reached their humble house. He didn't want to rely on Claire for rides any longer than necessary. Meanwhile, Claire was off doing Claire things before heading out for her Christmas shopping. Chris stayed behind, dreading what news she might share once she got back.

Claire, however, was having a fantastic time. Her brother's potential love life wasn't even on her mind for most of the mall excursion. Jill did show up as promised, soon proving herself a great person to hang out with outside of merely bothering her at work. She was easy-going and offered plenty of funny insults for any bad present ideas they came across. The two women got along quite well despite the notable differences in some aspects of their personalities. Claire hadn't expected it, maybe because she and her brother had rarely had intersecting social circles. But now she could see exactly why Chris liked Jill so much. She was tough, capable, accomplished, and pretty, of course; anyone could see that. But Claire didn't know she'd be so fun and sweet.

Truly, what a lady... Now she really wanted to help Chris turn his crush into a happy relationship. They were both good people. Surely they deserved each other.

Nearing the end of their shopping adventure, Claire and Jill stopped in for some frozen yogurt before the shop closed for the night. Claire found it a great opportunity to start talking about how wonderful her brother was to subconsciously make Jill feel like she ought to consider being more than friends with him.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Claire made her clever segue, poking at the brownie toppings on her dessert. "Chris, my brother Chris-- you know Chris, right?" 

Jill smiled strangely, unsure where Claire was going with this. "I thought I did, but now you're giving me doubts...?"

Claire continued as if nothing she had said was peculiar. "Well, he's pretty great. He makes really good homemade brownies. He does it every time I'm feeling really down. It's just one of those nice sides of him that I wish more people got to see."

"Oh, that's actually super sweet," Jill cooed.

Claire nodded in agreement, glad to see her words seemed to work well. She dared to continue, "He really is the greatest person to live with, you know. Brothers can be the worst sometimes, but I know best of all that Chris is a genuinely good guy. He's so thoughtful and selfless deep down." She felt like she was exaggerating too much, but it was all true. As annoying as Chris could be, Claire really admired him and wished she could be more like him at times.

Jill was starting to look almost impressed, but more by Claire than Chris. "I have to say, you two are so nice to each other. I've never met siblings who say so many nice things when the other isn't around."

"Oh, really?" Claire awkwardly laughed and stirred her frozen yogurt, hoping she wasn't coming off as fake or suspicious.

"Yeah, Chris talks about you a lot at work, actually. He really seems to think you're the coolest person on earth. It's fun to hear."

That revelation about her brother surprised Claire a bit, but she quickly accepted it. She was out there working to get him a girlfriend; of course she was the best. Regardless, she played it off to keep lifting up her brother instead of herself. "Heh, well, that's just because I'm the more popular one. But he's the one that should be. He's out there saving lives while I'm just off doing my own weird thing."

Jill shook her head and jabbed her spoon at the younger woman. "Hey, give yourself some more credit. There are a lot of people in town whose lives are better because you're in it. I know my life would be a lot more boring without you always popping in. Especially tonight! I would have had a lonely evening if it weren't for you inviting me out. So yeah, Chris is great. He really is. But you are too, and I won't accept you suggesting otherwise."  
  
Claire suddenly felt shy, a feeling that rarely came over her. Plenty of people had been nice to her in life, but there was something very uniquely warm and genuine about Jill's compliment. Maybe because Jill had just proven it wasn't hard for her to insult the daylights out of the most innocent gift shop items, as funny as that was. Claire surely had more faults than a novelty egg slicer did, but Jill was determined to make sure she didn't see herself as any less than her brother. It was nice.

Claire held up her hands helplessly. "Okay, if _apparently_ we're not allowed to talk about only Chris's good qualities, then I'll have to say that you're surprisingly more fun than I thought you'd be, Jill. I thought you'd be all stuffy, but you've been pretty cool."

"Hey, this was supposed to be about you and your brother! Don't circle it back to me," Jill protested in a lighthearted tone. "But I'm starting to see maybe that's just how you two are. Let me guess, this Christmas at your house we're all just going to be complimenting each other the entire time?"

"Maybe," Claire replied with a shrug, still feeling a bit shy that Jill thought she was a good person. She quickly tried to get back out of the topic. "Or I can spend all that time torturing you and Chris with my relentless singing of Christmas carols instead, if you prefer."

Jill laughed at the thought. "I have a horrible singing voice, so I just might have to team up with you to torture Chris together. He totally doesn't deserve it, but I know he'd accept it without too much of a fuss, so I wouldn't feel too bad."

The turn of conversation towards something less serious was wholeheartedly welcomed, as Claire didn't like it when things got too unnecessarily heavy. The unexpected praise from Jill had made her unsure how to feel, and she didn't know why. Maybe she was more insecure then she ever thought? Going back to fro-yo and easygoing chitchat helped ease that strange tension. The rest of the night was as much of a delight as it had been earlier, and Claire and Jill parted ways feeling more like friends.

Chris was definitely onto something when he started seeing Jill as more than just a co-worker, Claire thought. More of her in the Redfield's lives would be a delight. Hopefully by the end of Christmas, there would be a positive change in that direction. At least now she knew that Jill agreed, Chris was a pretty awesome guy.


	3. Christmas Eve Evening

Christmas Eve arrived fast. Too fast, Chris thought. He still barely had time to sort through everything that was happening before it was time Jill would be coming over to spend the holiday.

Claire, however, seemed much more prepared. Stopping him from pacing a hole in their floor, she grabbed his shoulders like she was on a mission. And in a way, she was. "Okay, Chris. Jill is going to be here any minute. You have to be ready to be the best man you can possibly be, okay? Knock her off her feet with your amazing host skills so she'll never want to leave."

"I don't have any hosting skills!" Chris wailed, on the verge of a panic attack.

Claire sighed dramatically. "Ugh, I have to do everything, don't I? Well, no need to worry. As long as you behave pretty normally, I can get you and Jill together. Trust me; I've seen all the Christmas romance movies. I can make it happen."

That didn't sound good, and he had to intervene. Chris pointed a stiff finger at her, lowering his eyebrows. "Claire Elza Redfield, I _swear_ that if you don't treat Jill normally in this house, I'm going to take the star off the top of that Christmas tree and shove it down your throat--"

The doorbell rang, stopping the siblings from committing any acts of violence against each other. Claire rushed to get it, not even acknowledging her brother's threat. He followed her closely in the hopes of keeping her from embarrassing him.

"Jill! It's so great to see you!" Claire declared as she opened the door.

Jill gave Claire a smile in return, waving to Chris coming up behind her. "Hey, you two! Thanks again for having me over."

Claire quickly became too distracted to properly continue the conversation. "Is this your dog???" she squealed in delight, looking down towards the calm animal sitting at Jill's feet.

"Yeah, this is Yuma!" Jill introduced him. "He's like my baby," she laughed as Claire crouched down to rub the pup's ears.

"Well, your baby will be in good shape in this household!" Claire said reassuringly. "Chris is fantastic with dogs."

Jill looked up at Chris curiously. "Oh, have you had dogs before?"

"Uh, no--" Chris replied awkwardly, wanting to kick Claire down their front porch stairs in that moment. What was she trying to do, get him trapped in a lie? There was nothing special about him and canines. Yet, Yuma trotted up to him lovingly like he had known Chris his whole life, wagging his tail joyfully.

"Yeah, they're just naturally drawn to him," Claire said with satisfaction. Chris didn't know what to think. Maybe it was all a coincidence, or maybe his sister had noticed a doggish pattern around him that he never had before. Regardless, it seemed to make Jill happy. That was all that mattered. Maybe Claire was a little helpful after all...

After bringing in Jill's bag for her and offering her some cocoa (with marshmallows, of course), they settled into the living room to hang out for a while. The trio talked about dogs and Christmas and the latest city gossip for a long time that evening. Claire kept trying to make Chris look good and boost his confidence, happy to see that he and Jill were becoming ever more comfortable around each other as the minutes ticked on. The time passed quickly among the good conversation, the night growing darker with each minute. Yet there was a twinkle out there that caught everyone's eye. 

"It's such a clear night; look at the stars!" Jill said in awe as she parted the curtains to look out. "Wow, beautiful."

Claire also seemed fascinated by how visible they were, and got a fun idea. "Hey, we have a bench in the backyard if you wanna sit outside! We can go get a better look at them if you don't mind the cold."

"That sounds fun! A good way to end the night before Christmas morning. Are you down, Chris?" Jill asked.

He shook his head with a bittersweet smile. "I would, but I really wanted to make some Christmas cookies for tomorrow. You guys can go without me, though. I won't feel betrayed."

"That's fine; we'll replace you with the pooch," Claire teased, sticking her tongue out at her brother while petting Yuma on the couch.

"For what it's worth, I think neither you _or_ Yuma are replaceable," Jill offered to Chris. "But we'll survive somehow."

"You _better_ survive, because it's going to take more than one person to eat all the treats I'm baking up," he responded. "So, you guys should hurry up and get on out now if you want to have a warm one before bed."

They didn't need an excuse to go out in the fresh air, but cookies were a good push for Jill and Claire to rush out. While Jill went off to find her coat, Chris kept Claire pulled aside for a moment.

"What? I haven't done anything wrong!" she whispered defensively, hoping her brother wasn't going to chide her for anything.

On the contrary, he gave her a surprised smile. "Yeah, you haven't! You and Jill seem to get along well without too much of your... _meddling_ attempts. And it makes me really happy to see, to be honest. You're my two favorite ladies, you know -- after mom, of course --, so it's nice for you to be so chummy already."

"Well, if we're aiming for future sister-in-law, I obviously have to be on my best behavior!" Becoming a little more serious, she added, "Jill's a really chill person. I don't see how we could NOT get along."

"Some people think she's intimidating," Chris said.

"Come on, she's been as soft as a teddy bear every time I've seen her! How could--"

"Are you ready, Claire?" Jill's voice interrupted as she reentered the room. "I can't wait; I _love_ looking at the stars."

Claire laughed lightly, able to switch topics quickly. "Probably because you're in S.T.A.R.S.," she joked, pleased to see that her sense of humor had mildly disappointed Chris. But not wanting to push it now that she knew she was on his good side, she quickly hurried outside with Jill and her dog to get out of his hair.

It didn't feel too cold, giving the two women plenty of time to adore the astronomical display above them before it would feel like their fingers were going to fall off. It was a very quiet night, which made it all quite peaceful. The kind of Christmas Eve where it almost felt like you could hear the icicles singing carols in the distance. The calm distracted from too much conversation taking place, the pair just embracing the silence.

"I have to say, I'm not all that surprised Chris is up so late baking. If there was ever a guy I've known to do it, it's him," Jill said after a while of their stargazing, looking back towards the Redfield's small house where he was surely mixing up plenty of dough.

Claire leaned against the back of the bench casually, the hint of a knowing smile on her face. "He just loves cooking for special occasions. And Chris makes _really_ great food. You're going to be blown away at dinner tomorrow."

"You sure talk him up a lot! Are you sure he's not paying you to compliment him so I don't have any bad things to say back at the office? Because I promise I would never say anything bad about Chris unless he did something insane like wrap your Christmas presents in ham."

Claire chuckled before answering with a smirk. "Oh, I wouldn't accept that offer. I only compliment people out of the kindness of my own heart."

Jill nodded in understanding before seeming to be distracted by another thought. She cautiously asked, "Hey, can I say something kind of weird?" Claire desperately crossed her fingers that Jill was going to admit she had a crush on Chris and wanted to stay in their lives forever and ever as part of the family. But instead, Jill continued, "I just think your red hair is so Christmas-y. It fits the holiday season aesthetic so well."

"Oh. Hmm, I never really thought about it," Claire replied, gently tugging on the ends of her hair in consideration.

Jill waved her hands dismissively. "Just a thought. Bright hair really fascinates me when I'm such a plain Jane. Or, well-- I did dye my hair blonde once."

Claire's mouth opened in surprise. "You? _Blonde_? That surprises me, but I can actually picture it... You could pass for a movie star or singer like that."

"Oh, trust me, I could never--"

Their conversation was cut off as they were startled by the loud scratching sounds of a squirrel racing through the branches overhead, showering snow down onto the duo below. Having ducked down to avoid too much of the icy shower, Jill looked back up to Claire and couldn't help but laugh. "Speaking of hair, there's so much snow in yours now," she pointed out.

"Gee, thanks, squirrel," Claire grumbled, watching the rodent continue scurrying away through the branches. "Now I have to go to bed on Christmas Eve with a cold, wet head."

"Well, let me try to brush it off before it melts," Jill offered, reaching a hand towards the top of Claire's head.

Claire had always seen S.T.A.R.S. as extremely powerful people, down past their sometimes-goofy personalities. They dealt with guns and other heavy weaponry, taking down the most dangerous criminals in the area; they had to be the toughest of the bunch, not your average officers. But there was some delicacy needed sometimes to prevent further disaster. And there was evidence Jill was well-versed in this delicacy in how she gently brushed the snow off of Claire's hair. She used just the slightest touch, long careful sweeps across the top of Claire's head. And the way her fingers lingered felt oddly... right.

Claire's heart gradually started beating faster. She was not immune to the loving touch of anyone quite so charismatic. More and more, it began harder to see Jill as just a friend. Unfortunately, Claire sometimes struggled to keep her thoughts inside her head. "Don't do it all slow like that; you're going to make me fall in love with you," she awkwardly laughed, having to push Jill's arms away before she got too much more dangerously close. 

Jill merely shrugged, unfazed. "Would that be so bad?" she innocently asked. 

Now _that_ was an unexpected response. Claire's jaw dropped, and she quickly looked away. "Uhhhhhh--" was all she managed to answer. Yes, it would be bad. Girls aren't supposed to like who they want their brother to end up with. Well, they actually are, unless they hate their brother. But not like _that_.

Apologetic that she seemed to have made Claire feel uncomfortable, Jill tried to quickly explain. "I just thought maybe you might've-- I mean, maybe I hoped you could-- I don't know. You're an amazing girl. Anyone would be happy to be liked by you. But I shouldn't have said anything."

"No! It's fine you did," Claire assured her. "It's just... complicated."

"...Does it have to be?"

Claire felt like she was being tortured. What was going on all of the sudden? Why did it seem like Jill, _Jill of all people_ , was coming on to her? And she would have really, _really_ liked it if there wasn't this humongous issue. They wouldn't be talking right now if Claire wasn't trying to set her up with Chris! She couldn't do that to her brother; she wanted him to be happy, not break his heart. 

"Listen, Jill, you're great. But you should be with someone else. You're not supposed to like me."

Jill tilted her head, a smile on the corner of her lips. Claire's choice of words seemed to betray the fact that she wasn't opposed to the idea of something romantic between them, and so Jill continued on. "You should know as well as I do that you can't help who you like, Claire. I'm sorry, but I just feel something with you. And if you felt it too, I didn't want it to go to waste. But if you don't--"

"It's not that I don't!" Claire instantly objected, quickly regretting it. She desperately wished she had more of a filter before opening her mouth. It definitely would have saved her a lot of trouble in life. 

Jill waited for Claire to continue speaking, but she never did. The two just stared at each other in awkward silence, unsure of what to do next. Nothing really seemed like a good option. There was no unawkward way to get out of the situation. But as if their eye contact was a magnetic force, the two women found themselves moving ever so slightly closer to one another. There was an almost unbearable tension between them from all of these things having been said so soon and out of nowhere. It left an ache, and there was only one thing that seemed like it could cure it.

So they did it. They kissed. And as they softly met lips, Jill could have sworn that there was a spark and time slowed.

...But Claire quickly moved apart from her, almost falling off of the bench as she stood and scurried a few feet away. "NO NO NO, I CAN'T DO THIS," she yelped, before putting a hand over her mouth. 

"I'm sorry?? What's wrong?" Jill asked, trying not to panic. She had never kissed anyone seriously before, let alone another woman, let alone her best friend's sister of all people. And it had proven to be a horrible disaster of an act, making her think she should never try it again. Even if that brief moment so close to Claire felt like nirvana (even better than when she went to a Nirvana concert as a teen, an amazing experience), and she would do almost anything to experience it again. And Claire had seemed into it just a second before despite initial hesitations, which made it all the more conflicting.

Claire tried to quiet herself down, not wanting Chris to hear and come check on them. "I can't do this in good conscience, Jill," she said apologetically. "I shouldn't have let this happen."

"I thought you said that--"

"I have to go," Claire interrupted, walking swiftly to the back door and slamming it behind her as she entered the house.

Jill wilted, feeling absolutely devastated that what she thought was so right had gone so terribly. "Is there something wrong with me, Yuma?" she asked her pet, almost in a whimper. "Because now I'm convinced I have lips of death and will never have a chance with anyone I like ever again."

The dog looked back up at her with a neutral expression before resting his chin on her knee. Perhaps it was as much condolence as a canine could offer for a human's romantic failings. Still, Jill felt slightly better knowing she wasn't completely alone. But only slightly. Her heart felt ripped in two. This was beyond mere rejection.

Chris looked up at Claire as she came in. "Wow, is it that cold out there? You're bright red! ...Are you okay, Claire?" He soon noticed how flustered his sister looked, and put down his spatula in concern.

"Chris-- I'm sorry--" Claire stammered, feeling more terrible at the mere sight of him.

"What's going on? Did something bad happen out there?"

Claire shook her head, backing out of the room. "I just need to be alone right now." And just like that, she was gone, leaving a very confused and worried brother alone in the kitchen. He wasn't sure what to do. Talking to Claire didn't seem like a good idea, so what could he do except wait for her to open up about it? Staying where he was would certainly be a much more relaxing option. Because as much as he knew his sister well, gingerbread men were easier to understand and never had girl problems.

After a few minutes, Jill came back into the house and enjoyed the offer of a warm cookie from Chris, a nice distraction from her heart's turmoil. He noticed she seemed a lot more quiet than normal, but figured she must have just been tired like he was. He decided not to ask her about Claire, knowing she'd tell him anything important without asking. So, there must not have been anything to say.

Whatever was going on with Claire, Chris was certain would be over soon. She surely just needed some sleep before a cheerful Christmas morning, right? Jill was with them! It would be great! How could it not be?


	4. Like a Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of all over the place; I apologize.

"Rise and shine!" Chris cheerfully called through the house to wake up Claire and Jill. "It's Christmas! Santa brought presents!" The holiday always put Chris in a fantastic mood, and it was hard for memories of anything questionable the night before to take that away from him. He was feeling incredibly optimistic about the day as well, in regards to finding the courage to talk to Jill about maybe seeing each other. But first came presents, and Chris was eager to share. 

"Santa? Did he bring me a unicorn?" Claire asked in a groggy voice as she slowly walked into the living room, wiping sleep from her eyes. "I asked for five years straight as a kid and I'm still waiting," she dramatically sighed.

"Maybe he hasn't found a unicorn small enough to fit through the chimney yet."

Claire jolted more awake at the sudden sound of Jill's voice. There she stood at the other side of the doorway, wearing blue pajamas covered in images of cartoon octopi. But Jill didn't need vibrant patterned clothes to be eye-catching. Great posture, clear skin, shining gray eyes... Why did she have to look so flawless, like she had just hopped out of a department store ad instead of bed? It was like life was showing Claire a slice of perfection and torturously not allowing her to have it. She had dug her own grave, of course. If she hadn't gotten so into the situation, she never would have known Jill enough to fall for her.

"Unicorns aren't real," she muttered to herself. Yearning for something unattainable would only bring disappointment. 

While Claire thought she looked so put-together, really Jill was feeling incredibly uneasy. It was awkward to face Claire again after what had happened the night before, just as it was awkward to sleep in Claire's bedroom even if she hadn't been in there with her. Jill would have been happier to hear that the coat closet would be used as a guestroom if that meant less of a reminder that Claire had pretty much broken her heart the night before.

She stared at Claire as Claire stared back, neither finding any more words to say. Chris watched, waiting for them to show any Christmas excitement like he was. But they seemed almost frozen in time from being so wrapped up in their own thoughts that he had to just keep going whether they seemed eager for it or not.

"No, no unicorns in here that I know about. Just some stockings filled with goodies!" He held up two lumpy Christmas stockings, offering them to the girls.

Gladly accepting hers as a distraction from the discomforting moment, Jill looked at the contents with awe. "Candy? Fun socks? Stickers? These are adorable. Haha, I feel like I'm a kid again. Santa sure knows how to make someone smile, doesn't he?"

"Well, we need to give adorable presents to ador--" Chris cut himself off from finishing the sentence that would likely make things unbelievably uncomfortable. "People," he quickly said, stopping himself short from calling his co-worker cute. "People who deserve adorable presents!" He gave himself a sharp mental facepalm, though Jill didn't even seem to notice his slight "slip of the tongue." Claire gave him a strange, almost weary look, but it was hard to tell if it was because he almost said it or because he didn't. 

Instead of doing anything to help save him from any embarrassment (or, knowing how Claire sometimes did things, make it worse), his sister just went back to looking at the stocking she held. "Aw, a scrunchie. Can never have enough ponytail opportunities," she commented, pulling the accessory out of her stocking to get a closer look at it.

Things fell back into silence. Chris refused to let it go on as long as it had the last time. "Okay okay okay!" he said, loudly clapping his hands together and dashing over to the Christmas tree. "Enough of the little stuff. I want to share my presents for you guys."

"Time to learn what kind of presents Chris Redfield gives," Jill said. "This could be interesting, knowing you."

Chris raised an eyebrow towards his sister. "Oh, I'm not the person you should be worried about. Claire is the whole reason I had to set a one-present-per-person rule while she's living in my home. But that means she has to choose one out of all her crazy ideas. And it can get interesting."

Claire held up her hands as if proving her innocence. "I just like buying fun gifts for people! Is that a crime?"

"It is when it becomes impractical," Chris confirmed.

"Crime? I guess someone will have to be the judge of impracticality so we can arrest you if found guilty," Jill joked to Claire. Her sense of humor quickly faded back into awkwardness, figuring that it was probably weird to say that to someone you're not sure you're even friends with anymore.

Thankfully, Chris was unknowingly Jill's hero as he shoved a present into Claire's hands, changing everyone's focus. "I can't wait for you to open this," he told her. "I just couldn't NOT buy you this."

"Sounds like this is either incredibly good or incredibly weird," Claire guessed as she removed the wrapping paper. "...Oh, god. It's weird."

Chris grinned. "It's one of those new Furby things that are all the rage. I think it has your eyes."

"Do I really look that psychotic?" Claire laughed, examining the furry robot through its packaging. "Wow, a freaky little bird monster to call my own. Thanks, Chris. This is definitely a conversation starter."

"It's more than that; it's like a whole new friend, supposedly," her brother pointed out.

"Oh, well I could certainly use one of those," Claire said, almost planning on becoming a recluse after Chris was done with his Christmas crush adventure. She was beginning to thoroughly regret ever daring him to ask Jill out. The Furby's blank stare almost seemed to taunt her, but she accepted the pain it brought. It almost felt well-deserved.

Claire continued to look at the toy while Chris offered a different present to Jill. "Here's my present for you," he said. "It's nothing fancy, but--"

"I don't need anything fancy," Jill assured him. "Just knowing that you've thought of me is enough." Chris melted at those touching words, watching Jill carefully undo the wrapping to reveal his gift. She gasped in delight when she saw the cute face of a horse Beanie Baby staring up at her. "This is so precious! I love gifts like this; I never would have thought of buying one for myself."

"You've mentioned that you grew up around horses, so I thought I'd bring a taste of home to you," Chris explained. "I figured it might help if you get homesick. I bet that happens more around the holidays."

Jill nodded slightly. "I'm sure it will. I can keep it on my desk! Wait, that actually reminds me of my gift for you, Chris," Jill said, walking over to find the present she had bought for him. "You can probably put it on your desk at work too."

Chris eagerly tore through the wrapping to see the packaging of a Chia Pet. "This is so fun! Thanks a million, Jill! Now I get to be a plant dad." He pointed at the stuffed animal he had given her. "We definitely have to keep these at the station. I can talk to that guy when you're away and I get bored, and you can likewise talk to this guy. It's great!"

"You two even get each other similar presents, huh? You really are the perfect duo," Claire noted in monotone, a dull smirk on her face.

"When you've done the same training, same missions, same _everything_ together for two years, I guess you start thinking alike," Jill mused, giving Chris a nod.

He smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess so." But before he felt too gushy about how great he and Jill were together, Chris turned to his sister and asked, "Did you get me a present, Claire? Or is your sisterhood present enough?"

"I don't think I've been a good enough sister lately for that," Claire answered, a careful response that he could accept as a return of humor while still being true to her feelings. "So, that little flat thing under the tree is for you."

"Oh! I saw that. I was guessing it might be a CD, based on the shape," Chris said as he went over to collect it.

"Sorry I didn't have it in me to bother wrapping it like something else," Claire replied, watching him open the gift. "You've always been good at figuring out what they are even if I try to hide it, anyway."

"I don't work in law enforcement for nothing! Ooh!" he exclaimed as he revealed the front cover of the CD Claire had bought him. "Classic Rock Hits! Hey, I know why you got me this! You're always complaining that I play bad music in the car. Now I'll finally be cool enough to be seen with you, right?"

"Nah, you're plenty cool already. Now you'll just have good taste. ...And that's the last present, right? Seems like we're all done here, and we can go do other things!!" Claire quickly said, wanting to end the Christmas morning as it currently was, with nothing actively ruining anyone's hopes and dreams. But unfortunately, exactly what she didn't want to happen did.

"Wait, no," Jill said, holding out a present she had procured from somewhere next to her. "I got you something, Claire."

Claire quietly sighed and forced a smile, not wanting Chris to notice anything had changed between her and Jill. "You shouldn't have," she said politely through clenched teeth. She quickly tore it open to avoid prolonging the moment, avoiding looking at Jill all the while. There were a few moments of silence as she stared at the gift.

Jill quickly asked in concern, "Are they any good? I wouldn't know; Chris just mentions sometimes that you ride motorcycles, so I thought it could be nice to give you, but I obviously don't know how to tell if they're quality--"

"They're good. They're great." Claire felt the motorcycle gloves in her hands, admiring the soft brown leather. They were nicer than what she currently used. She didn't always wear protective gear, but she definitely would with something this nice. _Incredibly_ nice. Were Jill's hands this soft--

She cleared her throat to snap out of her intrusive thoughts. "I'll definitely use these when the weather's nice enough to ride again. Thanks." Claire stuffed them back into the wrapping paper, not wanting to think about it anymore.

It wasn't the typical present you would buy for an acquaintance. Jill went out of her way to buy a specialized gift, and not a cheap one. It was so thoughtful; Jill truly must have liked Claire in one way or another to do something like that -- unfortunately. And even more unfortunately, it made Claire think of Jill even more highly. Why did she have to be so perfect? Her only flaw was liking Claire too much, she thought.

"There's still one more present under the tree," Chris noticed. "Something else from you, Claire?" he asked as he crawled underneath the branches to fetch it.

Now seen, there wasn't any chance of hiding it anymore. "It's for Jill," Claire mumbled, no longer wanting to give it to the other woman because she didn't want Jill to be friends with her anymore. She wanted them to be more-- No, less. Much less. For Chris's sake. Ugh, those intrusive thoughts were back.

Before Claire could even noticed Jill had started unwrapping, she was looking at the small object in her hand with her eyebrows raised.

"It's the only thing I really knew you'd like, because you saw it when we were out together," Claire quickly explained, gripping her knees and silently praying that Jill wouldn't take it as a sign that Claire really did mean to kiss her last night.

Jill took the silver necklace out of its box, looking at the slender pendant more closely. That's all it was: a thin and narrow piece of metal on a chain. She didn't know why it had caught her eye while they were out buying presents together. And so, it was a surprise that Claire remembered her pointing it out. "Yeah, I love it." Neither of them said anything else. They didn't know what else they even could say.

With all of the presents opened, the usual next best thing to do was to watch some Christmas movies before making a Christmas dinner. It was great that Chris was so eager to watch his favorite seasonal flicks _,_ as Claire and Jill had no reason to speak to each other if they were focused on a story. At least, everyone was _pretending_ they were focused on the story.

Chris couldn't help but keep glancing at Jill sitting with her dog, wondering if he'd really have the courage to ask her out that day. He truly admired her so much, and they got along so well as work partners. It felt like if there was ever anyone who would be really right for him, it would be someone like Jill. But it still made him so nervous.

Little did he know Jill was watching Claire from the corner of her eye as the redhead emotionlessly poked at the Furby Chris had given her. It was interesting to see her so quiet when Jill had almost always seen her so energetic. She remembered the first time she saw her in the distance, and the way her ponytail had bounced with every movement she made. It had put a smile on her face. She wasn't surprised to learn that she was none other than Chris's sister; there was something so bright about both of them.

But Claire specifically made Jill feel something special. She didn't know what it quite was. Safe? Hopeful? There was something deeper to it behind all the butterflies in her stomach. If only she could get close enough to know what exactly it was.

After the movies were over, Chris left to start dinner for everyone, always enjoying to please as a chef. Claire and Jill stayed where they were, quietly looking at their presents and only talking to each other a little bit. Claire asked about what Chris had mentioned when he gave her the stuffed pony, and Jill talked a bit about her childhood. Jill asked what on earth that Furby was supposed to do, and Claire looked at the instructions and tried to figure it out.

But once they ran out of small talk, Claire excused herself to freshen up for the day. It felt awkward to just be sitting in the Redfield's house all alone like she was, so Jill left to check up on Chris. He accepted her help in peeling some potatoes, and they chatted a bit about life and good food while they made quick work of their task.

It was a good way to calm her mind after the stress that hovered over almost everything so far that day. So as Jill set the potato peeler aside, she expressed her appreciation. "Thanks for having me over, by the way. This is the best Christmas I've had in a while. It's good to be around other people for the holidays."

Chris grinned. "Well, you know how it is. Anyone who gets to spend Christmas with me is guaranteed to have a good time. My name practically _is_ Christmas!" he laughed. "But really, I'm glad you accepted Claire's offer. It's so good to hang out with you outside of work."

"I agree. You're such a nice person to be around."

Chris looked at Jill and felt his heart beat faster. She always said the nicest things to him. It made the moment feel right. Nothing was going to burn if he stopped cooking for a minute. He had to take his chance. 

"Jill, I know this might sound like it's coming out of nowhere, but I have a question for you."

"...Yeah?" She suddenly worried this had something to do with Claire. Did she think Jill had been a creep and tell her brother about it? She knew he was very protective of Claire, and being on Chris's bad side would be terrible. That man could move boulders with his bare hands if he really wanted to. She didn't want to be mashed like the potatoes she had just peeled.

Chris took a deep breath. "It's that... We know each other so well, right? And I thought it would be nice to get to know each other even more, in a different way. Like... would you want to go to dinner with me sometime? Or see a movie? I know there's that new Star Trek one. I don't know what kind of dates you usually go on, but I'm down with whatever," he stuttered, hoping he didn't look like a complete idiot.

Nothing could have prepared her to hear that of all things. "Oh, Chris. This is really awkward," Jill replied, feeling like part of her soul had left her body.

Chris held up his hands defensively, quickly responding, "I'm sorry; I don't want to make things awkward! The last thing I want is for this to ruin our friendship." He then let out a long, defeated sigh. "So, you don't feel the same way? I totally get it. I just thought I'd shoot my shot. But I don't want things to change between us for the worse from me asking, if I can help it."

"No, it's okay," Jill assured him, wringing her hands as she tried to fully comprehend everything that had gone on recently. "Believe me, if everything was different, I'd consider saying yes."

"'If _everything_ was different?'" Chris questioned rather sadly, thinking that sounded like a complete "no, nay, never."

"Not if you were different, but if I was different. If the whole situation was different." Jill exhaled slowly to try and slow herself down, struggling to figure out how to put her thoughts into words. "I have feelings for someone else right now, and I don't think they're going away anytime soon."

"Anytime soon? So, maybe in the future you'd say yes?" Chris asked warily, hopeful but not wanting to press his luck.

"Chris, I don't know how to put this in a comfortable way, but I figure I have to be one hundred percent honest just to be fair. But I'm warning you; it's probably going to weird, or upsetting, or worse."

"I'm a tough guy, Jill. I can handle it. I just want to know."

"If you're sure." She took a deep breath and grabbed Chris's arms to keep him steady. "It's Claire. I have feelings for Claire."

Chris blinked, the gears of his brain slowly turning as they tried to process this new information. "...Oh. Well, I guess that does sting a _little_."

Jill let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Only a little? I'd be more... devastated in your position, I'm sure."

Chris shrugged, his expression still a little blank. "I don't know what else to expect, honestly. Claire is magnetic. Everybody loves her. And the more I think about it, the more I realize how well you two got along from the start once you started getting to know each other recently."

Jill sighed in disappointment, looking away. "Well, maybe we were, but not anymore."

"What are you talking about? I noticed you two were being a little weird today, but even just a little while ago I overheard you having fun together, trying to talk to the Furby." Chris smiled as he remembered it. "You two really get along like you've known each other your whole lives. She kept talking about you after you two hung out a week ago, you know."

"She did?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't be very surprised if she likes you back, Jill."

"I did think she might, but now I'm getting all these mixed signals. And even she does or not, I don't want to make this whole situation awkward for you. Considering, uh, this." Jill gestured towards Chris vaguely, which made him laugh.

"No! I love you both and I want you to be happy. If you think Claire might like you back, I want you to go for it. I mean, think about it. I'll get over your rejection faster if you're with my sister," he added with a wink. "Please, go talk to her. I want you to be happy."

"I would like to, but I honestly don't know if I have the courage anymore."

Although Chris had enough trouble finding the courage to ask Jill out, he tried to assure her. "We confront murderers for a living. How much harder can telling her your feelings be?" 

"It didn't go great the first time, but okay. I'll go try. Thanks, Chris. I'll let you know how it goes." It was terrifying to potentially face rejection twice in two days, but Jill didn't want to lose the opportunity if it really was there.

"That's the spirit!" Chris cheered as Jill timidly left the kitchen. "Wait, 'the first time?!' What have I missed?!?!" Unfortunately, a cooking timer went off before he could stop Jill and ask her what she meant, leaving him forced to merely wonder as he kept baking.

It took more than a few minutes for Jill to steady herself before talking to Claire again. Even if Claire didn't like her back, Jill had to at least get her feelings off her chest to make everything feel right again. And so she set off to find her, and heard Claire talking to herself in her room.

"Stupid eyeliner," Claire grumbled as she looked into a mirror, doing her best to remove the line that had smudged for the third time in a row. "The bad is just always going to outweigh the good now, is that it?"

"Hey, is there a problem?" Jill asked as she cautiously entered.

"This dumb thing won't cooperate with me today," Claire groaned. "I'm going to end up looking like I'm in a punk band. Which wouldn't be the worst thing, but is not exactly the look I'm hoping for."

Jill tightly shrugged, hoping she wasn't overstepping any boundaries as she offered, "Well, I'm not the absolute best at makeup or anything, but I can help if you want."

"I'm sure you're better than Chris, so I suppose I have no choice. Here." Claire held out the eyeliner for Jill to take. "Just follow my eyelashes. It's easy enough."

"If it's easy, why can't you do it?" Jill joked before instantly regretting how at ease Claire made her feel when things were still tense between them.

"I personally blame the makeup; but fine, maybe my hands are shaky today. Sorry I can't be perfect," Claire snorted, looking away as Jill put one hand on the side of her head to hold her steady. She kept talking to make sure there was no uncomfortable silence. "Nothing about me is perfect. I should have gotten coal from Santa. Yikes, why are your hands so cold?"

"I was outside with Yuma for a minute. Why are you so warm?" Jill countered as she began trying to put the eyeliner on Claire's eyelid.

"It's probably some fight-or-flight response because I'm scared you're going to poke my eye out with that thing."

"Sure you're not just blushing? I would be if someone was doing my makeup for me."

Claire gritted her teeth. "Why would I be blushing? It's just always hot in this room," she lied. Of course it actually was blushing. The woman she had suddenly fallen in love with was gently touching her face like it meant nothing. Like they hadn't felt each other's lips before. Like they wouldn't be doing it again right now if Claire let herself.

"If it helps, I promise I would never poke your eye out," Jill promised before deeply focusing on finishing the eyeliner. She looked at it carefully to make sure it was perfect, consequently meeting gazes with Claire. "They're too pretty to lose," she mused without realizing she had spoken out loud, momentarily lost in the blue.

Claire could tell Jill really liked her. It was painted all over her face; she couldn't have hid it if she wanted to. Her hand was still on the side on Claire's face even though it didn't need to be. It felt dangerously good, and she wanted to give into that feeling.

_No. No. No. Don't take her from Chris._

Claire's demeanor suddenly changed, pulling Jill's hand away to rise out of her seat. "No offense, Jill, but it's best if you stay away from me from now on. Hang out with Chris instead. He would probably love if you helped him make dinner." She took a few steps away from Jill and crossed her arms.

"He actually told me to come talk to you," Jill said slowly, worrying about the fact that things seemed to be taking a bad turn again.

Claire scoffed at the apparent irony of that fact. If Chris wanted things to go smoothly with Jill, he should have known better than to want her to spend time with Claire. She was evidently a threat in how quickly their interaction had seemed to become almost flirtatious. "Goes to show he isn't always as smart as he's capable of."

"Yeah, maybe," Jill replied, barely even able to focus on the other woman's words as she tried to figure out how to approach the situation. Ultimately, being quite blunt seemed like the easiest option. "Claire, do you like me?"

The other woman wanted to spontaneously combust when she heard those words. The answer was yes, obviously. But Jill should see it as no to stop being so close to her. Yet, Claire couldn't bring herself to completely lie. She turned her head away to hide her expression, tersely replying, "It wouldn't matter if I did."

Jill gestured with her hands helplessly, wondering how someone could possibly be so difficult when it came to a simple question. "Why? Why do you say that?"

"Ugh," Claire groaned. "Why do you have to keep asking?! Don't you think I'd tell you if I had the right answer?"

_The right answer?_ Jill was confused on what exactly was keeping Claire from just being honest. "I just need to know why you ran away from me last night."

Claire turned back to Jill sharply, blurting out in frustration, "Because I can't take you away from someone else who liked you first! It's not fair to them!"

Jill blinked in surprise. Was that really all it was? "...Is it Chris?"

"I can't tell you who," Claire answered snappily, refusing to betray her brother's emotions. "People's feelings can't be thrown around so carelessly. They have to be protected."

Jill did have to admit that Claire was being admirable, even if it was keeping her from getting to what she wanted. So she tried to cut to the chase. "Well, Chris just said that if you do like me back, I should give it a shot with you. He wants us to work it out if we have something going on between us."

"He really said that?" It didn't seem like it should be true. Didn't Chris like Jill too much to so easily offer she go to someone else? But at the same time, Claire also knew, as guilty and unworthy as it made her feel, that Chris would give up almost anything to make her happy. That's how much they cared for one another. After all, that's basically what Claire had tried to do for him.

"He did," Jill confirmed. "So if that's what has been holding you back... I still mean what I said last night."

Claire sighed deeply. It still didn't feel right. "But I don't think you should. Chris is so much better than me. He's like your second half by this point. I sure don't have your favorite kind of pie memorized or anything close to that. You'd be happier with him."

"Of course you don't! Chris and I have worked together for long time now. You and I had barely talked before this month. But that's not it. You're still the one I can't help but have feelings for. So when you said that you could have fallen in love with me, I had to take my chance. Because I want to be with you."

But Claire still felt somewhat wary to accept, hardly feeling deserving. "Aren't we too different to work out? You don't want to be seen dating some college student--"

"Claire, no," Jill interrupted with a laugh. She thought it was ridiculous that Claire was trying to make herself look so worthless when she was the most lovely young woman Jill had ever laid eyes on. "We don't need to overthink it. I just want to take you on a date and see what happens from there. What do you say?"

How could Claire say no? She had been steadily longing for Jill more and more ever since she first realized how much she liked her. If Chris had approved... "I would _love_ to go on a date with you," Claire finally admitted, and it felt like such a weight off her shoulders after a day of so much stress. Jill smiled so brightly that Claire was convinced she had gone to heaven as she saw it.

"Thank you. I'll try to make it worth your while," she said, offering her hand as if to shake on a promise. 

Claire accepted the gesture, bringing herself a few steps closer to Jill once more. She was tempted to reclaim the kiss she had first rejected, but Chris appeared in the doorway to quickly squash that idea.

"Okay, no one's crying. That's a good sign!" he said, looking at the two girls hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Chris," Claire apologized. "I failed everything for you, big time."

"No way, Claire! You know that a better Christmas gift is to me than my dream coming true is your dream coming true. For _both_ of you. And it just shows I need to be chasing something else, and that's better to find out now than later. Things might feel weird for a little while, but that's just part of life," he said with a shrug, though it made him so happy to see Claire and Jill look so much more relaxed around each other again that he knew it wouldn't take long to feel normal.

"Oh, does it hurt to have your baby sister steal your crush?" Claire teased, trying to keep things light so she wouldn't feel awkward.

"I'm more shocked than anything. I didn't even know you liked Jill. Or that Jill liked you."

Jill blushed a bit as she looked at Claire. "I always thought she was great. Getting to know her just made it into something more."

Finding it all very cute, Chris nodded in agreement. "She's the best sister in the world. I'm really grateful for both of you." He pointed down the hall as he continued, "And I'd be even more grateful if you two were some taste testers in the kitchen right now!"

"Taste testers? You don't need to ask twice! We'll be right there," Claire replied, and Chris left to go wait for them. She looked back at Jill and raised an eyebrow. "This is... strange. I didn't expect this to happen. But I'm happy it did."

"Me too," Jill said, giving Claire's hand a small squeeze since she still hadn't let go. "I don't really know what to expect."

"That's fine. It's no fun when you expect it," Claire responded before quickly kissing Jill, enjoying the look of surprise on her face as she moved back. Before Jill could even process it fully, Claire was leading her back to the kitchen with a laugh. Jill felt positively charmed by her. Their date couldn't come soon enough.


	5. Leftovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at ending stories, but I hope this is a satisfying enough ending for you all.

Jill was stressed as she waited by the door for Claire to pick her up for their date. She had never really gone on one before. What should she expect? Where they any unspoken rules she didn't know of? What if she made a fool of herself and Claire didn't like her anymore? Did her hair look bad? Was there too much dog fur on her pants? What if someone realized they were on a date and made a mockery of them for it? What if she could never show her face again in town again because people knew she was queer?

Well, maybe societal exile would be worth it if that meant she could be with Claire. Because despite all her anxiety about the event, Jill was so excited that she flung the door open at the slightest sound of a knock to see Claire as fast as possible. Claire looked at Jill standing in the doorway for a few moments without saying anything, mouth open in a small smile.

"What?" Jill asked, suddenly worried that her shirt was on backwards or something.

Claire held her hand out for Jill. "I've just never had such a beautiful date before. I was admiring you."

Nearly swooning at Claire's unexpected compliment, Jill held onto her and allowed herself to be whisked away into the night. She couldn't think of any date-related worries anymore. Her mind was just filled with joy at having found someone to love.

A few weeks later...

"Yoo-hoo," a sing-song voice called through the office doorway. "Delivery for Jill Valentine?"

Jill had been deeply focused on the work before her but quickly looked away from it at the cheerful sound that was quickly becoming her favorite thing to hear. "Claire! What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised but happy to see her girlfriend showing up at her workplace.

"Not much." Claire smiled as she slipped into the office, holding a paper bag with a heart drawn on it. "I hope you haven't had lunch yet?"

"I haven't. I'm guessing that's why you came?"

"Well, when we are messaging last night, you seemed to think the dinner I made sounded so good. And being the good person I am, there was no way I couldn't let you have some," Claire explained as she set the bag on Jill's desk. "And because I don't get to spend enough time with you, so I'll take any opportunity I can get."

Jill smiled brightly. "That's sweet of you. I really appreciate how hard you try to make it work even if we're both busy at the worst times."

"Yeah, is _everyone_ here off busy somewhere?" Claire had to ask, noticing that Jill was seemingly the only person in the immediate office area.

"They just all got their chance to escape this dreary stuff by going on break. And I'm stuck slogging over this while they're gone." Jill gestured vaguely to what was around her. "It's good news if S.T.A.R.S. doesn't need to be out doing anything, obviously. It means people are safe. But it also means we have to spend all our time catching up on annoying paperwork."

"Ugh, that reminds me. I have an ethics paper due tomorrow morning."

"Let me guess; you haven't started it yet?"

"Hey! Don't have those low expectations of me. I have written at least a few sentences, I'll have you know," Claire defended herself. But after a disappointed look from Jill, she easily caved. "Fine, I'll go finish it."

"Good. I'm proud of you." 

Simple words, but they did make Claire's heart flutter. Everything Jill did seemed to affect her more than any previous boyfriend or girlfriend had. It made Claire feel like she had found the love of her life, even if it was perhaps reckless to think that way so early on in a relationship. Still, she chased after that feeling even more, taking a chance if Jill was willing to offer.

"I know you're not really comfortable enough to be 'together' in public right now, but no one's around, so... Spare a kiss before I go?"

Even if acting as a couple out in the open felt risky to Jill, she was always open to a kiss when no eyes were on them. "I can't refuse an offer like that." She rose from her desk to kiss her girlfriend's soft lips before they slowly said their goodbyes to each other, dragging their words out slowly as neither wanted to part.

But as Claire finally started turning to leave, Jill put her hand on her arm to interrupt her exit. "Hey, one last thing."

"Yeah?"

Jill glanced around exaggeratedly to make sure they were alone before whispering conspiratorially, "One more kiss to get me through the day?"

"That's gay, Jill," Claire teased.

As childish as it all was, Jill joked back, " _You're_ gay, Claire."

"For you," she agreed, granting her the kiss.

And although they both wished they could stay endlessly together, Claire knew she should leave before someone came and got mad at her for hanging out in the police department building without good reason again. 

Over in a different area of the building, someone was very confused by what they had just accidentally seen. "Did I just see Officer Valentine and your sister just kiss, or am I insane?" Leon awkwardly asked Chris as he entered the breakroom.

Chris nearly did a spit take of his juice. "What?!"

"I just walked past your department, and I thought I saw them doing... something? Close together like that?" Leon awkwardly tried to explain, hoping he hadn't started any drama. "I don't know, the blinds were partly closed."

As unexpected as it was, Chris knew it was probably true. And he felt like Leon was too keen to believe a lie, so he asked, "Can you promise to keep a secret if I tell you something?" Leon nodded eagerly, happy to be trusted by someone higher-ranking than him, so Chris continued carefully, "I don't know why Claire is here right now, but... Yeah, they're in a relationship. And you can't tell anyone at all. That's their business, okay? If you do, I won't hesitate to slam your head in a door," Chris threatened.

Leon cringed. "Of course I won't tell anyone! I was just caught off guard; I had to ask if you knew anything. ...When did they get together?"

"Two days after Christmas was their first date. According to Claire, they went bowling and ended up 'making out' in her car... Is that normal? I don't think _I_ ever kissed a girl on the first date," Chris wondered in concern. Leon merely shrugged, hardly an experienced ladies' man yet, so Chris kept talking. "I don't know, maybe she was just making things up to mess with me. Honestly, I don't _want_ to know. No one wants to think about their sister making out with someone. Especially not their co-worker."

The younger man nodded as if he could possibly understand, but his mind was on other things. "It's funny... I almost wanted to ask Claire out myself before I saw this," he admitted.

Chris almost laughed, thinking it was hilarious that he wasn't the only one left out from the two women getting together. "You and half the guys in town your age, I'm sure. Everyone loves Claire. But she was waiting for the best of the best. You can't get much better than Jill. Heck, even I liked Jill." He looked away wistfully, but quickly shook his head with a smile. His crush had been rather silly, he thought now. He was glad it was over, for everyone's sake.

"I guess that makes the both of us the leftovers," Leon replied.

Before Chris could chuckle at that amusing statement, Captain Wesker appeared from nowhere to loom over their table. "So, Valentine is one of those... 'lesbians?'" he asked ominously.

Chris crossed his arms, hoping he wouldn't have to punch his captain for being offensive. "That's not my information to share," was his careful response. "It's no one's business unless she makes it their business."

"Don't bother with all your virtue. I overheard you talking about it clear as day. And I know everything." Wesker seemed to think for a moment, expression unclear behind his sunglasses. "First Ellen DeGeneres, and now this. It's all awfully... _progressive_ , I suppose."

Neither could tell if he was okay with it or not, but he didn't seem like he was going to try firing her over it, so the two boys let it slide as Wesker left them alone again, messing with the coffee pot in the corner. They gave each other a shrug, quickly getting back to their own lunch and starting new conversation about man stuff, like if Lunchables hamburgers or hot dogs were better. To both Leon and Chris, Jill and Claire's relationship wasn't a big enough of a deal to keep chatting about. They were supportive of it, and that's all that mattered.

As Claire got back home, she noticed that all of their Christmas decorations were still up. "We should probably take those down soon," she said to herself, before suddenly laughing as it brought a memory back to light. Just a month ago, she and Chris had been decorating for the Christmas party, and that's where the whole mess had started. When Claire had dared Chris to final confess his crush to Jill. When Claire threatened that she would steal her away from him if he didn't.

She certainly hadn't expected that something like that would have actually happened; Claire didn't even have feelings for Jill until recently. It was all quite nearly the complete opposite of what Claire had been hoping for when she started the situation in the first place. Yet, this seemed like a far better ending than what she had envisioned. Even Chris had seemed happier since then, she thought. 

For him, his crush being taken was a great Christmas present to help him redirect his focus to more important things. And for Claire, you couldn't get a much better present than an adoring girlfriend. Even the Furby paled in comparison.

THE END

(for now)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the story. The characters are probably a little OOC, but it's an AU anyway, so I hope it didn't ruin your life. It was definitely not originally going to go like this. I got the idea for it because I thought Claire would be good as a character trying to help set up two other people, and Valenfield seemed like an obvious choice for a couple because they're probably the most popular Resident Evil ship. But then I felt it being pulled in this direction that Claire and Jill might end up liking each other instead, so that's where it went.
> 
> Honestly, I like the idea of a lot of the actual Resident Evil series story happening after this, just a few months or so later than it normally does, but some things are slightly different considering I have it so Claire is in Raccoon City before the mansion incident went down, Leon knew her and was a cop before the RC incident, etc., and then there's just this extra stuff because of Claire and Jill's relationship obviously. I think it would be fun to see how things would be different, and I have ideas for stuff that could happen, so maybe I'll end up writing bits more of this AU... We shall see.


End file.
